SSG Landers Archives - All Mississippi Baseball

over there

Anthony Alford wrapped up a strong season in the Korean Baseball Organization with a strong finish for one of the league’s best teams. Now the former Mississippi Mr. Baseball (and Mr. Football) from Petal and his KT Wiz teammates await the start of their postseason later this week. Alford, once a highly rated outfield prospect in the Toronto system, never really took off in the U.S. big leagues (.209 in 220 at-bats) but has been a standout the past two seasons in the KBO. Alford, 29, batted .289 with 15 home runs, 70 RBIs, 83 runs and 17 steals in 133 games this year for the Wiz, who finished 79-62-3, good for second in the league. Alford hit safely in eight of his last 10 games with 14 hits all told. The Wiz received a bye into the second round of the playoffs. … Former Southern Miss star and erstwhile big leaguer Kirk McCarty went 9-5 with a 3.39 ERA this season for SSG Landers, which also made the KBO playoffs. McCarty, in his first year in Korea, has not pitched since Sept. 23; it is unclear if he is injured. SSG Landers is the defending league champion.

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Kirk McCarty, the former Southern Miss and Oak Grove High star, notched his sixth win today for SSG Landers in the Korean Baseball Organization. McCarty, in his first year in the KBO, threw six innings in a 12-1 win over Lotte, yielding one run on five hits. In 12 starts, the 27-year-old left-hander is 6-3 with a 2.48 ERA, which includes an awful debut in which he allowed eight runs in 3 1/3. McCarty was a remarkable 22-4 at USM from 2015-17 and was drafted in the seventh round by Cleveland after his junior year. He made his big league debut last season with the Guardians and pitched fairly well: 4-3, 4.54 ERA, in 13 games. Cleveland released him in November, and he quickly signed with the KBO team based in Incheon, South Korea, that won the league title in 2022. SSG Landers played a series against the KT Wiz earlier this week, but McCarty did not pitch, missing a chance to face former Petal High star Anthony Alford, one of KT Wiz’s best hitters. P.S. Eight Magnolia State college players are among the 323 prospects invited to next week’s MLB Draft Combine by MLB and USA Baseball. Shortstop Jacob Gonzalez, the highest-rated draft prospect in the state, leads four Ole Miss alums on the list, joined by outfielder Kemp Alderman, catcher Calvin Harris and pitcher Jack Dougherty. Southern Miss pitcher Tanner Hall and outfielder Matthew Etzel got invites along with Mississippi State outfielder Colton Ledbetter and pitcher Cade Smith. The combine runs June 19-24 at Chase Field in Phoenix. MLB Network will broadcast from the site on Tuesday and Wednesday. The draft is next month.